Struggle
by ZannahBanana
Summary: When Carly breaks things off with Sam and Freddie out of exasperation with their constant arguing, they come up with a plan to get her to take them back. Then the struggle with their feelings begins.
1. Prologue

***PART ONE***

***Disclaimer--I do not own iCarly.**

Prologue

"And before we go tonight," said Carly, "Sam and I want to ask a little something of you--"

"The viewers," cut in Sam.

"--who motivate us to keep iCarly on the web!"

"It's all you!" said Sam, pointing both her fingers into the camera.

"It certainly is!" said Carly, eyes wide.

"So we wanna make a special request of you viewers."

" So here we go! So, Sam?"

"So, Carly?"

"Have you noticed that in Seattle there is a very large population of dirty squirrels?"

"Why, yes," said Sam, looking into the camera. "Yes, I have!"

"So it must be that way everywhere else!"

"Because Seattle can't be the only place in the world with dirty squirrels."

Freddie chuckled.

"That's why we want you," said Carly, now talking into the camera, "the viewers of this spectacular web-cast, to join the Shampoo-a-Squirrel Organization!"

"Started by me, Sam!"

"Me, Carly!"

"And our technical producer, Freddie!"

Freddie turned the camera around to face him. He grinned. "Hello!"

"Yeah, yeah, let's turn the camera back to the attractive ones, Fredward," Sam said.

Freddie rolled his eyes, but turned the camera back around to view his two friends.

"The Shampoo-a-Squirrel Organization is a group made up of teen viewers like yourselves made to help give squirrels a hygiene boost!"

"Because all nature deserves to be clean."

"You wash your dog," said Carly

"Your cat washes itself," said Sam.

"But the question we want answered," said Carly.

"Is this."

Both yelled, "Who washes the squirrel?"

"I am a proud squirrel shampoo-er," said Sam.

"And we want you guys to be, too!"

"So just come here, to , and click on the squirrel logo at the top right-hand corner of the screen."

"Type in your screen name, age, and you are officially a member of the Shampoo-a-Squirrel Organization!"

"Then, the next time you see a squirrel," said Sam, "shampoo it!"

"Shampoo that squirrel, girl!" Carly howled.

"So, until next time," said Sam, "I'm me!"

"And I'm me!"

"Bye!"

"Bye!"

Both girls waved as the Random Dancing tune began to play and the lights began to flash. Then, they Randomly Danced until Freddie called, "And we're clear!"

"Yeah!" Carly and Sam slapped hands, and then went over and each high-fived Freddie.

"Nice job, ladies," Freddie said, setting his camera down on the side of his tech cart.

"Thanks," Carly said. "That was a really good show!"

"I know!" said Sam. "The Save-a-Squirrel thing was awesome!" She pumped a fist in the air as she said this.

"Yeah, now viewers will know how quirky you really are," Freddie spat.

"Watch it, Freddie," Sam snarled. "Mama can break a bone when she needs to."

"Oh, like you would," said Freddie, but he shuddered. True, Sam was his worst nightmare, except the fact that he was awake. For many hours a day, Sam was near him. She was laughing over the most ridiculous things, trying to prove her theory true that Gibby was a mermaid, and trying to get out of giving oral book reports. And yet Freddie never felt angry at her. He told himself, whenever he noticed this, that it was because they had been friends for so long. Well…not friends, he would think. Mutual friends of Carly.

And Freddie had been in love with her for so long.

_Carly_, he thought immediately, not Sam! He tried not to even think of he and Sam as friends, let alone…well. More than that. If the word 'Sam' was ever mentioned in the same sentence as the word 'girlfriend', Freddie had to try to hold down his stomach.

And his palpitating heart.

**This is my first fanfiction post. I know it's short, but I felt obligated to crank something out before the premiere of iSaved Your Life. Comments, questions, constructive criticism? Read and Review!**


	2. Chapter One: Bickering

Chapter One: Bickering

"And then the dude said, 'What's this cheese doing on my lawn?' and then the other guy said--"

"Sam," broke in Freddie, now leaning against a locker, arms crossed over his chest, "is there a point to this story?"

"Yeah," she scoffed, as if he should know this. "The point _is _that elderly dudes don't like it when college guys put old cheese on their lawns!"

Freddie rolled his eyes. "Great. That's fantastic. I'm glad I skipped going to my AV Club meeting to hear this story." He sighed.

"Oh, like anything interesting would have happened in that meeting, anyway," said Sam, waving her hand, dismissing Freddie's complaint. She started to walk away, toward the stairs to the upper floor of the school.

"Yeah, it would have!" he called after her, following her. "We were about to discuss the compatibility of certain flash drives with the new model of--"

"Yeah, yeah, techie, whatever. I gotta get to drama class."

"Oh yeah?" said Freddie, stopping. He crossed his arms over his chest again, smirking. "You practicing a scene where you make someone's life miserable? You oughta be good at that."

Sam stopped. She threw a strand of long, wavy blond hair over her shoulder, and turned around. She had a look of pure hatred on her face that she directed at Freddie.

"No," she said, taking a step closer. "I'm doing a scene where I play a teenage girl who spends way too much time around a nerdy tech geek who's boring her to death." And then she slapped him across the face.

Freddie wasn't phased. He kept the smirk on his face. "I'm not going to hit you because guys shouldn't hit girls," he began, "but I'm also not going to hit you because I'm nice. I'm not entirely sure that _you _qualify as a girl. I'm not sure you qualify as a person!" he added as an afterthought.

Sam bit her lip and furrowed her brows. "Look, Freddie--!"

"What, Sam?!"

"You better learn how to shut your peach hole before I--" "Sam, that makes no sense--!"

"Did I ever say--?"

"Yeah, I should expect that kind of thing from--!"

"Whatever, I'm not the one who--"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

Sam and Freddie continued to talk over each other until they got so loud that neither knew what the other was saying. People around them were stopping to stare.

"_Yeah, well, I don't_--!"

"_I don't care_--!"

"STOP IT."

A shrill, girl's voice made Sam and Freddie stop and whirl around. Carly stood feet behind Freddie, red in the face, jaw tight.

Sam and Freddie looked at each other quickly, then turned back to Carly.

"Hey, Carls," said Sam.

"How ya doin'?" asked Freddie.

"That's good!" said Sam, before Carly had a chance to answer.

"We'd love to stay and chat," said Freddie, "but…uh…"

"We have to go talk to… Miss Briggs!"

"Right! Come along, Samantha," Freddie added, in a strange accent.

"Right behind you, Fredward," said Sam. And Freddie started running up the stairs with Sam close on his heels.

"Hold it!" yelled Carly.

"Aw, crab cakes," muttered Sam. Freddie pinched his eyes shut.

"Get back down here," said Carly, in the tone of a mother calling her son to come and pick up his dirty shoes from the carpet.

Freddie turned around first. He looked at Carly, and the second he saw the look on her face he knew that this was serious. He started walking down the stairs.

Sam, however, didn't follow him. Instead, she started walking slowly up, head down. But when she and Freddie were on the same step, he caught her around the neck with his arm, jaw clenched, and she turned around and faced Carly. Freddie knew that when she saw the look on Carly's face she'd come down with him, but just in case, he kept his hand on her shoulder the whole way down.

They walked up to Carly. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at them.

Sam and Freddie exchanged a look, and then looked back. After ten seconds, when Carly still didn't say anything, Sam threw her arms up.

"Well?" she said irritably.

"What?" Freddie asked tiredly.

"You know 'well'," said Carly to Sam. "And you know 'what'," she added to Freddie.

"Well, could you please say it to clarify--?"

"You guys' fighting!" said Carly. "It's been totally getting out of hand lately, and I don't know how much longer I can put up with it."

"Oh, you're totally overreacting," said Freddie.

"It hasn't been getting out of hand," said Sam, rolling her eyes at Carly.

"Oh yeah?" said Carly, putting her hand on her hip. "You two got in a slap fight at the Groovy Smoothie over T-Bo's dreadlocks!"

"They were nasty and greasy!" said Freddie, as if this justified the fight.

"They were perfect," Sam opposed.

"Are you kidding?" said Freddie. "There was more dirt in his hair than--"

"Stop it!" said Carly again. "See, there you go again."

Sam and Freddie looked at her.

"You guys need to get along," she said. "This fighting has been going on for years and it's just crazy! I can't take it anymore!"

"Carly--" Sam started.

"Don't, Sam," Carly sighed. "It's starting to get embarrassing. I can't go out in public with you two anymore without being embarrassed because you two start yelling at each other! And now you're doing it at school? This is crazy."

"Carly…" Freddie tried.

"No," said Carly. She hitched her bag up on her shoulder. "Until you guys learn to get along, I'm not going to hang out with you." And then she walked off toward the advanced history room.

"Uh!" Sam scoffed. She and Freddie watched Carly until she turned into the history room, and then turned toward each other.

Freddie threw up his arms. "You see what you do?"

"Me?" Sam said, jabbing her thumb into her chest. "It was _your _fault, you diphthong!"

"My fault?" Freddie said. "Mine? You were the one with the stupid cheese-on-the-lawn business--"

"You're such a dip-head, you were the one who--"

"Oh, whatever, Sam, you--!"

"Hey, don't go bagging on me for--"

"STOP IT."

Sam and Freddie whirled again. Carly's head was poking out of the history room, eyes wide again. Then she said in her normal, girly, soft voice, "That's the last time I'm going to say it." And then her head disappeared.

Freddie turned around. "So what do we do?"

Sam sighed. "Get along…I guess."

Freddie grimaced.

**Well, this is the first real chapter, I suppose. I wrote it kinda quickly, some people have started adding me to their story alerts. I'd really appreciate reviews! I got my first one on my prologue, from my cousin Anne (Strawberry Shortcake123). Please R&R! :)**


	3. Chapter Two: The Meeting

Chapter Two: The Meeting

Sam was sitting on Carly's couch in she and her brother, Spencer's, loft when Freddie came in.

"Hey," he said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sam said, waving her hand to dismiss him. "Let's just get this over with before Carly and Spencer get home."

"Right," said Freddie. He sat down on the couch beside her, then cocked an eyebrow. "Where are Carly and Spencer?"

"I dunno," said Sam, picking at one of her fingernails.

"Did they tell you where they were going?"

"They were already gone when I got here."

Freddie scoffed. "Then how did you get in?"

"I picked the lock with this," Sam said. She pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and showed him.

"Ah," said Freddie, nodding. "I'm not surprised by your lack of respect for other people's privacy, Carly's."

"Oh, _psh_," Sam said. She waved her hand again. "Like Carly'll care."

"Since you two are apparently on a break as best friends, she might."

"So that's why we'll leave before she and Spencer get home!" said Sam. "And you two are on a break, too, Benson."

Freddie looked at Sam. "So…it's just you and me?"

Sam sighed. "Yep. Until we learn to get along."

Freddie leaned back. "Great."

"Like you and I being best friends is really my idea of fun," Sam said, rolling her eyes.

"Whoa," said Freddie. He straightened up. "You have other friends, you know."

"None that I hang out with as much as you," admitted Sam.

"Well…" Freddie struggled for words. "What about Wendy?"

"Please," scoffed Sam. "I only talk to her when she has news about somebody."

"What about…what about…"

"Look, Freddie," said Sam. "I don't have any other close friends and neither do you. So right now, we're all each other's got."

"I do too have other close friends!" said Freddie adamantly.

Sam cocked an eyebrow. She put on arm on the back of the couch and said, facing Freddie, "Really?"

"Yeah," said Freddie, voice cracking. "Like…uh…Shane."

"Shane moved away two months ago," Sam said knowingly.

"Well, I have…uh…"

"Face it, Fredward, I'm all you got," said Sam roughly. "And you said at my birthday party a few months ago that you thought of us as really close friends."

"Yeah…but…"

"I hate this as much as you do," said Sam. "You think I want my best friend to be a nerdy, dorky, geeky…well, you know. You think I want my best friend to be _you_?"

"At least I'm not lazy, mean, and totally vicious!"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm still all you got."

Freddie glared at her. "I hate you."

Sam scoffed again. "Hate you, too."

Freddie had a sense of déjà vu. Where had he heard that before? He vaguely remembered a conversation between the two of them, he and Sam, but he couldn't remember when it was, or why they had been saying that. Freddie and Sam very rarely actually told each other that they hated each other.

"_Sam? I hate you."_

_Chuckle. "Hate you, too."_

"No," he said out loud, eyes widening in surprise.

"What?" Sam said, eyebrows furrowed.

He looked at her. Sam was wearing an expression of exhaustion now. Her head was against the back of the couch, and she was staring into space.

"Nothing," he said.

"I know what happened the last time we told each other that, Freddie," said Sam. "I know that's what you're thinking."

Freddie's heart was pounding. He gulped. "What are you…huh?"

"You were thinking of it," said Sam.

"_Well…lean."_

"No, I wasn't," said Freddie, ignoring Sam's voice in his head.

"And now we're speaking of it."

"_You're _speaking of it!" Freddie said.

"_And you prom__ise we go right back to hating each other as soon as it's over?"_

"_Totally! And we never tell _anyone_."_

"_Never."_

Freddie gulped again.

"Did you…like it?" he muttered.

Sam sat up and looked at him. "Huh?" she said, dully surprised.

"Did you like it?" Freddie repeated. He sucked in a breath. "The kiss."

"Oh," said Sam, as if she didn't know that the kiss was what Freddie has been referring to. She was silent.

"_Well, that was…"_

"_Nice."_

"_Yeah…nice…"_

"Ugh!" Sam suddenly broke the silence.

"What?" Freddie said, startled.

"We promised we'd never speak of it again!"

"Oh, come on," said Freddie. "Carly knows it happened, so…it's kinda stupid to hide it now."

"So?" Sam said. "We're still breaking the promise by talking about it."

"Yeah." Freddie looked down at his folded hands, sitting on his lap. "I know."

"This is so stupid," said Sam.

Freddie didn't say anything.

"We just did it to get it over with, right?" she said, looking at him sternly.

"Yeah," he admitted, shrugging.

"So it shouldn't mean anything; it's not like we picked each other so it would be special or anything."

"Right," Freddie agreed. He didn't know what else to say, and this conversation was making him a little uncomfortable.

"We have to get along," Sam said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, but how?" said Freddie. "We've never gotten along, even before we became friends."

"Mama has a plan," Sam said, smiling. She scooted over a little bit on the couch and gesticulated as she talked. "We pretend to get along until Carly believes we actually are, and then, when we're all friends again, we go back to hating each other like always." She smiled bigger, obviously proud of herself.

"But wait," said Freddie, eyebrows furrowed, "if we go back to fighting, she'll just dump us again."

"If she starts to get annoyed again," Sam said, "we'll just stop fighting again. Simple."

Freddie sighed, but surrendered. "Sounds good."

"Nice," Sam said, standing up. She picked up her backpack, which had been on the couch next to her, and headed to the door, followed closely by Freddie. She opened the door and walked out. Once he was out the door, Freddie shut and locked it.

"See you tomorrow, Fred-weird," she said, lifting her arm to wave lazily at him. He lifted his hand to wave back, and she headed down the hall, footsteps thudding the whole way down. Freddie rolled his eyes, smiling a little, and wondered what Sam would be like if she weren't…well, lazy, inconsiderate, rude, and somewhat funny. Pretty much Carly, he guessed.

He turned to his apartment door and opened it, wondering if he and Sam could 'get along' without killing each other.

**Well, there it is. Sorry it took so long to upload, but I'll be uploading much quicker now. In your reviews, guys, please tell me if Sam and Freddie are too lovey-dovey: I hate it when Seddie stories are like that. Tell me if they're realistic. Please R&R. I appreciate it. :)**

**P.S. The italics you see when Freddie is hearing the voices in his head are lines from iKiss. They do NOT belong to me. They're the property of iCarly. **

***Hey, guys. I just realized that in the Prologue, Carly and Sam talk about the Shampoo-a-Squirrel organization...I got the idea from iCarly, I thought I should mention. In one of the episodes, when Carly and Sam are signing off the show, Sam tells the viewers to 'shampoo a squirrel'. Just wanted to make sure you guys knew that. Thanks. :)**


	4. Chapter Three: One Last Fight

Chapter Three: One Last Fight

Freddie stood by his locker quietly, scanning the crowd of teens for a certain blond-headed demon. But he didn't see her, only seeing familiar but not quite as familiar faces. He needed to talk to her; he wanted to make sure they would execute their plan correctly and in a way good enough to convince Carly to take them back as her friends. But he couldn't be sure of any of that until he found Sam.

"Hey, Fredward," said a voice behind him.

"Ah!" Freddie yelled as he jumped a few inches into the air. He turned around to see Sam standing there, looking amused. He let out a breath.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" he said, pointing a finger at her. Sam merely looked at it, bit it, and looked back up at Freddie. He was wiping his finger on his shirt.

"Chillax, Freddie," she said, as Freddie lost the disgusted expression he was wearing. "Have you seen Carly today?"

"No, I left before her today, I guess," he said, examining his finger one more time before dropping his hand. "Have you?"

"Nope," Sam said, popping the _P_. She adjusted her backpack strap on her shoulder. She stared blankly ahead.

Freddie looked at her for a minute, wondering how she could space out so easily when she was in the middle of talking to someone. He squinted, trying to see if she was still breathing. She was.

"Well, look," Freddie said, "I wanted to make sure we're both clear on the plan."

"Okay," Sam said, still looking at something invisible in front of her.

Freddie stared at her. "Sam."

"Freddie," she replied, not looking at him.

"Sam!" Freddie said, flicking her in the forehead. She whirled around, mouth agape, and slapped him with a scoff.

Freddie stood there with his eyes closed. Sam stared at him, smirking.

"Sam," Freddie said, eyes still closed, "I was just trying to get your attention so I can make sure we're both clear on the plan."

"Yeah," Sam said, shrugging.

"So I really don't think that that's any reason to _slap me_!"

"Have I ever really needed a reason to cause you physical pain?" Sam asked earnestly.

Freddie huffed. "Sam-"

"Freddie, seriously, you need to chill-"

"You slapped me!-"

"You flicked Mama, dude, did you think I'd just-?"

"_Sam-_"

"_Freddie_-"

"Well," said a familiar voice next to them, "I see you two haven't fixed things."

Sam and Freddie turned to see Carly standing there, bag on her shoulder, looking serious.

Sam and Freddie both just stared at Carly, unsure what to do. Already their plan was failing. Freddie sighed and decided to try and patch things up.

"Carly-" he said, taking a step toward her.

"No," she said, taking a step back, hands out in front of her to keep him away. She sighed, and dropped her hands. "I told you guys, until you learn to get along, I can't hang out with you. There's only so much a Carly can take!" She looked at them.

Sam, mouth slightly open, looked at Freddie. He was looking at Carly, and he felt terrible. Sam decided to say something.

"Carls," she said, stepping toward her a little bit. Carly stood her ground. "We're…we're…"

Freddie stared at Sam, arms crossed across his chest.

"…we're…sorry. Okay?" Sam looked at Carly earnestly.

Carly sighed, breaking. "Look, Sam, I know it's hard for you guys to get along. But this is really important to me, so I'm sticking with my plan."

Sam sighed, and Freddie looked anywhere but at Carly.

"I know you guys can do it," Carly said. "I mean, think how much happier you guys would be if your lives weren't always so miserable!"

Freddie looked at Sam, who bit her lip. She had a knack for making Freddie's life miserable and was the only one of the two who was making the other miserable.

"…and I know my life would be so much better if you guys weren't arguing all the time," Carly said, continuing on from something else, something neither Sam or Freddie had heard. Both just nodded.

"Anyway," she said. "I'm really sorry things have to be this way. But when you guys can get along…come right back." She smiled weakly, and turned around and headed to her first class just as the bell started to ring. Sam and Freddie stood there, crestfallen, as they both watched Carly walk off.

"This stinks!" Sam said, kicking a locker half-heartedly. "I can't believe you blew it, Fred-weird!"

"_Me_?" Freddie said disbelievingly. "You were the one who slapped me!"

"Because you flicked me!"

"I was trying to get your attention, nothing else was working!"

"Whatever," Sam said, pulling her backpack up over her shoulder higher. "This is so dumb! We've been fighting for years, why is it just now starting to bother Carly?"

"Beats me," Freddie said, shrugging. "She's been through a lot lately, with the taco truck ordeal and everything…" Freddie trailed off.

"_She's not in love with you; she's in love with what you did."_

Freddie shook his head vigorously. He didn't want to think about his failed relationship with Carly-well, not failed. They were on a break until Carly was sure that she loved him and not his saving her life. But he still didn't want to think about it.

"I guess," said Sam, shrugging. She looked at Freddie, who was now staring into space. "Freddie?"

Nothing.

"Freddie."

Freddie was still out of it.

"FRED-WEIRD BENSON!"

Freddie jerked around and faced Sam. "What?"

"'Just trying to get your attention,'" she mimicked, smirking. Freddie glared at her.

"Look, Puckett, we have to get along now or Carly'll never take us back. So let's just make sure we're clear on the plan, which is all I wanted to do in the first place!"

"Whatever," said Sam. "Shoot."

"Okay," said Freddie. "So, when we're pretending to get along, we're not supposed to act all mushy or anything, right? We need to act realistic or Carly'll never buy it."

"Duh," said Sam. "Just act normal."

"If we were supposed to be acting normal, Sam, we'd fight."

"Fine," said Sam. "All we have to do is get along-not be nice, or mushy, or anything that'll make me puke. Just get along, no fighting. Okay?"

"Okay," said Freddie. He swallowed, unsure where to start. "So…"

Sam rolled her eyes at him. "Let's just get to class, Freddie."

So they headed off together, silently.

**Well, this is really the last chapter you'll read that won't have some form of Seddie-ness in it. I'm not gonna make it mushy and lovey-dovey, though; I've already expressed how much that irks me. R&R, guys!**

**Disclaimer: The italics you see when Freddie is hearing the voice in his head are lines from iSaved Your Life. They do not belong to me; they are the property of iCarly.**


	5. Chapter Four: First Feeling

Chapter Four: First Feeling

Freddie sat in algebra class, chewing on his pencil, trying to work out a problem. Sam sat across the aisle from him, next to Wendy, cracking her gum loudly. Wendy didn't seem to notice.

Freddie and Sam planned to begin their charade at lunch, which would be the next time they saw Carly. They hadn't fought since that time before class, but they hadn't really spoken either. Clearly, this was going to be hard.

Freddie didn't know how this was going to fool Carly. Would she really believe it if Freddie complimented Sam's shirt, or if Sam didn't say anything rude when Freddie mentioned a girl he liked? He knew that he and Sam had to be careful, because being too friendly would immediately tip Carly off that he and Sam were faking it.

Freddie sighed. This all was so ridiculous. Like Sam had said earlier, the two of them had been fighting for years…why was it bothering Carly now? It could be possible that she'd reached the end of her rope, but…why now?

Everything had seemed fine. They had all been friends, and there had been no awkwardness between Carly and Freddie over their recent break-up. Freddie's eyes widened. Was Carly's dumping Sam and Freddie an attempt to get rid of Freddie, because she was uncomfortable around him now? Was her exhaustion with their fighting just a cover?

Freddie swallowed. He was now extremely nervous about being around Carly, even though he had no proof that that was her reasoning behind dumping he and Sam as friends.

Sam cracked her gum louder.

"Sam," Freddie hissed, looking at her, "cut it out!"

"Mr. Benson!" their algebra teacher hissed, eyes narrowed at Freddie. Freddie looked up at her. "No talking!"

Freddie grunted, pinching his eyes shut. Sam smirked, blowing a bubble with her gum. Freddie grimaced when he heard it pop. Irritatingly enough, the algebra teacher didn't notice Sam or her gum.

Freddie went back to his algebra problem, still worried about Carly. Of course he still liked her, but…things were weird now. With the accident, and with their short-term dating. Freddie wasn't sure what he felt now…everything had moved so fast.

The bell trilled. Everyone jumped up and ran to the door and out of the room, except for Freddie. He took his time gathering his things; he had a lot on his mind.

Sam was the last one to reach the door. She suddenly realized that Freddie wasn't beside her, like he always was, or behind her, or in front of her; Carly or not, Freddie was always around.

She turned around. Freddie was pulling his backpack over his head to rest on his shoulder, the strap going across his body. He walked toward her, not seeing her until he had just about run into her.

"Hey," Sam said, looking at him.

"Hey," he said. He looked around for a minute, then walked out of the room. Sam, a little confused, followed him.

"What's your problem, Benson?" she asked, in her usual direct, gruff way. They were walking in the direction of Freddie's locker, Sam right on his heels. He sighed.

"Nothing, Sam." He turned around, looking right at her. "Go on," he said, moving his index and middle fingers like walking legs.

Sam scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said. She kept following him. "Dude, what's the chiz?"

"Nothing's 'the chiz', Sam," said Freddie, opening his locker. "And do the words 'none of your business' mean anything to you?"

Sam stared at him, mouth slightly agape. She felt like Freddie'd slapped her, for some reason…she'd never felt that way about something Freddie had said before. Usually they were both arguing, insulting each other back and forth, but now…it was just him.

Sam stepped back, adjusting her backpack on her shoulder. She closed her mouth, looking at him. She felt..strange. Giving him one last hurt look, she turned around and headed to her next class, without another word.

Freddie, feeling her absence, turned around to see a girl with long, curly blond hair walking away from him, slowly disappearing into a crowd of kids. He suddenly felt bad about snapping at her, but didn't follow her to apologize for fear of doing it again.

He'd never felt bad about being rude to Sam, usually because she'd done something to deserve it or had said something equally rude first. But this time…she'd done nothing. She'd merely acted concerned about him, something she'd never done before. Freddie felt something. He wasn't sure what, but he felt something.

Something…

**This was my first real Seddie-ish chapter in Struggle. I know it's short, but I think the Seddie will make up for the length. As always: R&R!**


	6. Chapter Five: First Attempt

Chapter Five: First Attempt

Sam and Freddie sat on the bench near the clear glass doors of Ridgeway, waiting to see Carly somewhere in the throng of kids, heading to her locker. Freddie had his earphones in, and Sam kept checking her cell phone for texts from Carly. None.

Sam was still stinging a little bit from Freddie's behavior earlier. She was trying not to let it bother her-why would she let that nub get to her?-but it was. She didn't know why, but it was.

Freddie was looking around anxiously, trying to find Carly. He was ready to execute their plan, even though he was nervous about seeing Carly after his theory about why she dumped he and Sam. He was trying to convince himself that once they were all friends again, he'd feel normal again. He was sure.

Freddie felt something slam into his arm, though not painfully, and he turned to look at Sam; her eyes were wide, and she said:

"Here she comes."

Freddie followed Sam's gaze until he saw Carly, walking through the crowd with her book bag on her shoulder. She looked unhappy, her mouth a straight line, and she was looking at the floor.

"Gimme an earphone!" Sam said, taking one out of Freddie's right ear. She stuck it in her own, and started snapping and dancing in her seat to the music. She'd put the plan in action.

Freddie quickly put his game face on and turned to face Sam, whose eyes were closed as she moved from side to side, still snapping. He smiled, forced a chuckle, and started patting his knee in time with the music, trying to smile and act like Sam was amusing him.

Carly looked up from the floor briefly to see Freddie and Sam listening to Freddie's PearPod together, and cocked an eyebrow. This wasn't normal Freddie-Sam behavior. But, she was disconcerted from losing her two best friends, and quickly wrote it off as not seeing what she thought she was. She went to her locker and ignored them.

Sam kept grooving until Freddie tapped her to let her know Carly was gone. When she realized that Carly had gone right on by, ignoring them, she threw down the earphone, exclaiming, "Chiz!" She was confused. Her plan had seemed perfect, but…it hadn't worked.

Freddie looked at Sam, and was taken aback. She was looking down at her hands, where she was twiddling her thumbs, and she looked sad and lost. Freddie had never really seen Sam this vulnerable before, and was completely lost himself. He had no idea what to do.

His and Sam's relationship had never really been a nice, fun, typical teenage boy-to-girl relaionship: it had always been filled with bickering, physical confrontations, and insults. The only time he and Sam had ever really put that aside was when Missy, Carly's old best friend, had come to Seattle and tried to steal Carly from Sam, hurting Sam in the process. Freddie had gotten rid of Missy after Sam had come to him for help.

But then, of course…there was the kiss.

And there it was again. Freddie was _thinking _about it. Freddie had never thought about the kiss this much, even right after it happened. Sure, he analyzed it in his head in the minutes after Sam had left the balcony, and he had thought about it when Carly questioned he and Sam after Sam had spilled the beans after a dose of laughing gas at the dentist's. But now, and when he and Sam had met in Carly's apartment…it was just there.

Freddie shook the thought away. It was over and done with, and it didn't matter now. Why would it?

But now, Freddie had Sam to deal with. And he didn't know how.

"Sam," he sighed, looking anywhere but at her, "she probably just didn't see us." He knew, though, that that wasn't true.

"Carly's been my best friend for years," Sam said, still looking at her hands. "She's never dumped me, not really. I just feel…confused, you know?"

Freddie nodded, looking at a suddenly interesting Ridgeway Bulldogs flag stuck to a locker.

After a second, Sam said, "Whatever. I have English in, like, two minutes. See you later, Fredward."

"See you," Freddie said as Sam walked off. Freddie wasn't sure if he should have patted her on the back or what…he felt like that was a completely failed attempt to comfort Sam.

Not the only failed attempt at something. Their attempt to get Carly to take them back had also failed. But this had only been their first attempt, and they still had time. Surely either he or Sam would come up with something.

Or would they really have to learn to get along?

**And there's a new Seddie chapter. To be honest, I'm not completely happy with it, because I think Sam's too vulnerable. It's definitely gonna be hard for me to slowly develop a relationship between Sam and Freddie without making it unrealistically mushy. I definitely need reviews on this chapter, and if you have any, suggestions. Thanks, guys.**

**P.S. The Missy story that I mentioned is from the iCarly episode iReunite With Missy. I didn't come up with the story: it's the property of iCarly. Also, the story of Sam and Freddie's kiss is the property of iCarly.**

**P.S.S. If you guys want, I'd be happy to see if I can begin stories, one-shots, or songfics with plots you guys come up with. When you review Struggle, if you want to, tell me your ideas! Can't promise you anything, but I can always try.**

**Thanks!**


	7. Chapter Six: Trying

Chapter Six: Trying

Sam and Freddie sat together on the stairs that led to the second story of Ridgeway, waiting for Carly to come down. It was the end of fourth period, and the next thing on their schedule was lunch. Generally, the three of them would head to the cafeteria together, talking and laughing about their past four classes, and would all find something to eat and sit down together, occasionally sitting with Wendy or Gibby. But today…today would be different. Both Sam and Freddie knew that.

They heard a shrill voice ring out in laughter, and Sam and Freddie both turned around to see Carly and Wendy coming down the stairs together. Wendy had probably just told Carly some of her famous gossip, which is really the only thing she ever did. Both Sam and Freddie had been approached by her at various times, only to be updated on the latest going on at Ridgeway.

"Ready?" Sam whispered to Freddie, still watching Carly.

"Yeah," Freddie replied. "Let's go."

So Sam and Freddie got up together and started walking toward Freddie's locker, very close together, laughing as realistically as they could. Sam punched Freddie in the arm playfully a few times, and Freddie bumped fists with her once, but he felt so fake he almost couldn't stand it. He had a feeling that Sam felt that way, too.

"So, Freddie," Sam said mid-laugh when Carly was in earshot. "What's…up?" Sam furrowed her brows, still smiling. She had no clue how to converse kindly with Freddie.

"Uh…nothing," Freddie said, forcing a smile. "Just…you know…stuff?"

This was not going well. Sam thought for a minute, then said, almost hysterically, "Me too! No way!"

Freddie stared at her. "I'm so confused," he said in a low voice.

"Shut up!" Sam hissed.

She turned around to see Carly's reaction to the way they were treating each other, but she and Wendy were gone.

"Ugh, are you kidding me?" Sam said. "She left again!"

Freddie sighed. "I know."

"If she does this again, I'm going to FREAK OUT!" Sam yelled, punching a locker with the side of her fist. She was breathing heavily through her teeth…in and out, in and out.

"Sam," Freddie said, getting a little closer; his hands were out slightly, as if to protect him. "Sam, calm down."

"I can't!" Sam said through clenched teeth. She turned to him. "I mean, first Carly dumps us for fighting and then doesn't even care when we're not?" she said, throwing up her arms.

"She probably…I don't know, she probably…"

"Dude!" Sam yelled. "She just ignored us!" Sam punched the locker again, and this time grunted with pain.

"Hey, look!" Freddie yelled, grabbing Sam's arm right as she was throwing her fist for another punch at the locker. Sam looked at him, eyes wild and firey. Freddie gulped, but said:

"It's not a big deal. We'll keep trying, eventually she'll have to pay attention. So stop freaking out, and let's go to lunch. Okay?"

Sam glared at him, yanked her arm away, and said, "Whatever." She pulled her backpack strap up higher on her shoulder and stalked off toward the cafeteria, still fuming. Freddie sighed, rubbed his forehead, and followed her, wondering if she would keep her temper if Carly ignored them again.

At lunch, Sam and Freddie sat by themselves. Whenever Carly was in earshot, they talked like good friends would, asked each other about their lives, and just were nice in general. Carly, however, never paid any attention to them, just kept going if she walked by their table.

Freddie sighed, throwing down his sandwich. This was _not _working.

Sam obviously knew that, too. She stared across the cafeteria for a minute, biting her lip, then jumped up.

"C'mon," she said to Freddie. Before he had a chance to respond, Sam had grabbed his wrist and dragged him up out of his seat toward Carly's table, where she was sitting with Wendy and some other girls.

"Hey, Carly," said Sam as soon as they were at the table. She dropped Freddie's wrist. "How goes it?"

Carly looked up at Sam, and felt a pang of loneliness. She looked at her for a minute, and said, "Fine."

"Freddie and I are going to one of his AV conventions this weekend," said Sam, being careful not to call it a nub convention or something just as insulting. "Wanna come?"

Carly looked at Freddie, who half-smiled at her. Her heart melted a little bit, but she said, quietly, "No thanks."

"But…they'll have a snack table!" Sam said, smiling. She leaned down and nudged Carly with her elbow. "Ribs, right?"

"I have plans with Wendy this weekend," said Carly, not looking at Sam. Wendy nodded.

"Oh," said Sam. She tried not to look as crestfallen as she felt. "Uh…okay. Next time, right?"

"Maybe," Carly said, and then, with one last sad look at Sam and Freddie, she turned back to Wendy, who immediately started dishing gossip. Sam and Freddie stood there for a minute, Sam looking wistfully at Carly. When Freddie saw this, he put his hand on her shoulder. She didn't move.

"C'mon," he said, turning to go back to their table. Sam followed, Freddie's hand still on her shoulder, and they walked together back to their lunch table. Once there, Sam shrugged Freddie's hand off of her shoulder and sat down at her place across from him.

For a minute, neither of them spoke. Sam nibbled at her chicken leg, and Freddie watched her, wondering how she felt…he'd never seen her this way before.

"Sam…" he started.

"I have to go," Sam said, picking up her backpack from the floor next to her. She gave Carly's table one last look, and then walked from the lunch room.

Freddie sighed, and rested his head on his hand. It was terrible to see how much Sam missed her best friend. It was definitely bothering Freddie: Sam was becoming a completely different person. Sam was tough, and she could take a lot of things, but the one thing she couldn't take was rejection. Freddie knew that; she'd shoved Gibby against a locker when he rejected her for the Girls' Choice Dance. But this Carly thing was really hurting her.

Freddie was still hung up on the theory that Carly's exasperation with his and Sam's fighting was a cover for the real reason she dumped them: she felt awkward around Freddie after their breakup.

It wasn't fair, though, that Carly was dumping Sam just so she could get rid of him. Seeing Sam this way was getting hard for Freddie, so he decided to fix things. Freddie hated to admit even to himself that he was doing this for Sam, but he knew, deep down, that he was.

What he was going to do wasn't going to fix things for him; it was going to fix things for her.

**Well, there you go. We're really progressing as far as Seddie goes. I'm probably going to have about two more chapters before I begin Part 2. And this is all going to be within the same story, so you won't have to go searching for another title. R&R!**


	8. Chapter Seven: The Truth

Chapter Seven: The Truth

"Spencer, I'm home!" called Carly as she walked through the door of she and Spencer's aparment. "Where are you?"

"In here!" he called. Carly looked around, and soon saw Spencer coming out of his bedroom.

"Hi," she said, dropping her backpack on the chair next to the door.

"Hey," he said, walking to the kitchen. "How was school today, kiddo?"

"It was…okay," Carly said, shrugging. She walked into the kitchen and pushed herself up onto the island, facing Spencer.

"How are things with Sam and Freddie?" Spencer asked, handing her a juice box.

"Not good," Carly sighed. She ripped the straw off of the juice box and poked it out of its wrapper. She stuck the straw in the box and took a long, thoughtful sip. After a minute, she said, "They were getting along."

Spencer took a sip of his juice and said, "I thought that's what you wanted?"

"It is," said Carly. "The first time I saw them this morning they were fighting, but then the next time I saw them they were getting along, so I thought I was just misunderstanding. But then at lunch they came up to me and said that they're going to an AV convention together this weekend."

"So?" said Spencer, sticking the straw in his mouth.

"So," Carly continued, talking very fast, "Sam would never go to one of Freddie's AV conventions, and she wouldn't ever call it that, she'd call it a dork convention or something, so now I know that they're faking!"

"You don't know that," Spencer said.

"Yes I do!" said Carly. "And I was really hoping they'd learn to get along, 'cuz I miss them and we still have to do iCarly and I just-"

_Knock knock._

"Who is it?" Spencer called, since Carly was still hysterical.

"It's me," called back a voice.

"Freddie," Carly said, eyebrows raised.

Spencer, who had been looking at the door, turned to her. "Do you want me to open it?"

"Yeah," Carly said, still staring at the door herself.

"It's me!" Freddie called again.

"Coming," said Spencer, running to the door. He opened the door to see Freddie standing there, hands in his pockets. Spencer held out his arm to let Freddie know to come in. Freddie stepped inside.

"I'm gonna go look for my PearPod," said Spencer. "I'll see you guys later. Good to see you, Freddie."

"You too, Spence," Freddie said, holding his hand up in a wave. He looked after Spencer for a second, then turned to Carly, who had gotten down from the island and was leaning against the counter.

"Hey," Freddie said, holding his hand up to Carly as he'd done to Spencer.

"Hi," Carly said, shifting her weight to her other foot.

Freddie looked at his feet for a minute, hands jammed in his pockets. Then, biting his lip, he looked up at Carly.

"Carly," he said, walking toward her, "tell me the truth. Why did you dump me and Sam?"

Carly sighed. "I told you, I can't deal with your fighting-"

"Carly," Freddie said, eyes boring into hers. "The truth."

Carly looked at him, confused. "That is the truth, Freddie."

"No, it isn't," said Freddie. He turned around, running both hands through his hair. A minute later, he turned around again to face her. "Look, I know you dumped us both so you could just get rid of me. You said you were tired of our fighting, but that was just a cover. I know what's going on, Carly, so-"

"Wait!" Carly said. "Did you say I dumped you both so I could just get rid of you?"

Freddie looked at her and nodded.

Carly took a step toward him, eyebrows furrowed. "Why would I want to get rid of just you, Freddie?"

"Carly," Freddie sighed, now exasperated. "I know you feel awkward around me because we just broke up. And I know you dumped both of us with your fighting excuse just so you wouldn't have to be around me. But you have no idea how upset Sam's been because of this, Carly," he said, gesticulating as he talked. "I've never seen her like this, not even when Missy showed up. But this isn't fair to her, so I wanna ask you to take her back. She needs you, Carly." Freddie inhaled deeply and exhaled, waiting for Carly's response.

Carly looked at him for a minute. Then, suddenly, a wide smile spread across her face.

"Freddie," she said, laughing a little. She got closer to him and wrapped him in a tender hug. She buried her face in his shoulder, and Freddie, confused, put his arms around her and hugged her back; this had to be a good sign.

"That's all I wanted," she said, pulling back from him.

"What's all you wanted?" Freddie said, his eyebrows now furrowed.

"The arguing did bother me a lot, Freddie," said Carly, sitting down on the couch. "And I did want that to stop. But what I was really worried about was that you guys really didn't care about each other's feelings, that you guys really meant all the things you said. But you just proved that you care about Sam."

"But…" Freddie was flustered now, and his face was getting hot. "But that doesn't mean we won't fight. I mean, I've always cared about Sam but we still-"

Carly's expression cut him off.

He looked at her for a minute, surprised with himself. "Um," he said.

Carly smiled. "Thanks, Freddie."

Freddie looked at her.

"I feel a lot better, since now I know that when you guys fight, you still actually care about each other," she said. She stood up and took her cell phone out of her pocket. "I'm gonna text Sam and ask her if she'll come over so we can rehearse iCarly. Are you gonna stay?"

Freddie nodded.

"Cool," Carly said, walking into the kitchen. "Be back in a sec."

Freddie, still shocked by what he'd just said, sat down on the couch. Of course he never had really wanted to hurt Sam with his insults, and he preferred to think that Sam didn't mean to really hurt him, either. But he'd never protected Sam like this before, or admitted that he did care about her and her feelings. As difficult as she was, she was still his friend.

Freddie still felt a little weird about his and Carly's breakup, just because he was second-guessing his decision to end it with her…what if she really had loved him? But she had seemed to agree that she loved what he did. But still…Freddie had loved Carly for so long, and he had let her slip through his fingers.

And then, to add to his stress, was his situation with Sam.

He felt like he'd broken some promise by saying that he cared about Sam. It had always just been understood that they were supposed to insult each other and never act like they liked each other. But now, with this…Freddie had messed it up.

He had a lot to think about. He had to be around the two people that he felt very awkward about right now, and he was nervous. For the first time, he was nervous to be around the two girls. This was definitely a new feeling for Freddie.

But then again…he'd been experiencing a lot of new feelings lately.

**And there we go: the end of Part One! I really hope it wasn't too fluffy or unrealistic. I'm really proud of this so far, guys, and I really appreciate the positive reviews! I will be beginning Part Two as soon as possible! In the meantime, as always: Read and Review!**


	9. Chapter Eight: Lies

***PART TWO***

***Disclaimer-I do not own iCarly.**

Chapter Eight: Lies

Carly, Sam, and Freddie paraded down the stairs of Carly's loft, all smiles and laughter. The iCarly rehearsal that had taken place after Carly had taken Sam and Freddie back had been a huge success. They had all been pumped during this rehearsal, considering their renewed friendship, and they'd all had a great time. But Freddie, as much fun as it had been, had been thinking and stressing the whole time.

"Let's go to the Groovy Smoothie," said Carly, walking from the kitchen to where Sam and Freddie were standing. "My treat."

"Alright!" Sam said, pumping her fist in the air.

"Just let me get my purse," said Carly, walking to the chair beside the door where she usually dumped it, along with her book bag. However, it wasn't there.

"Where's my…?" Carly muttered to herself, lifting up her bag to see if the purse was underneath. "Oh, I know where it is." She turned around to face Sam and Freddie, who were watching her. "I left it up in my room, I'll be back in a sec." Carly ran to the stairs and jogged up them and out of sight.

Freddie, by this time, had seated himself on the couch. He was staring into space, wondering why he'd said what he had.

"_I've always cared about Sam…"_

Freddie shuddered. This was just too weird. He'd never, in a million years, admit that he cared about Sam out loud-that is, if he weren't hysterical, as he had been when he'd blurted it out. But the whole reason that he'd come to Carly's apartment had been to help Sam, to protect her from being continually hurt. He'd done this for Sam.

As if Sam sensed that Freddie was thinking about her, she sat down next to him and said, "Alright, Benson, what'd you really do?"

Freddie, snapped out of his thoughts by Sam's voice, turned to her and said, "What do you mean?"

"Carly said that she took us back because she saw that we weren't fighting anymore," said Sam, "but I know you had something to do with it."

"No, I didn't," said Freddie.

"C'mon, Fredward," said Sam, trying to goad him into telling her the truth. "I can tell you had something to do with this. Tell me."

"_Tell me."_

Freddie shuddered. Another flash from the night he and Sam kissed.

"I'm telling you, Sam, I had nothing to do with it," he lied. "Carly just believed that we were getting along." Even Sam knew this was a lie.

She stared at him, long and hard, and he avoided eye contact with her. She squinted at him. She knew he was lying, but decided not to push him further. That would just result in a fight.

"Whatever," she muttered. She got up and adjusted her Penny Tee, then stood at the foot of the stairs, waiting for Carly.

Freddie was acting weird. Not normal Freddie weird, but…abnormal Freddie weird. As if that made any sense whatsoever.

Freddie was adamant that Sam would not find out what he'd done. If Sam knew what he'd said, she'd either cause him extreme physical pain or-and Freddie shuddered at this-things would become weird between them. Suddenly, their arguing would become…affectionate, if they knew that at least one of them cared about the other. Freddie couldn't stand the thought. So Sam would never know. Ever.

"Got it!" Carly yelled from somewhere up the stairs. She came down, swinging her purse triumphantly. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah!" Freddie said, composed and ready to have some fun. He got up, walking toward the door.

Sam and Carly bounded to the door, laughing and talking and just catching up in general. Freddie smiled, seeing the two of them, and let them go through the door first. After they were out in the hall, Freddie followed, shutting the door behind him. He followed them, whooping and talking as they were, and just relaxed and enjoyed the moment.

**And there's the first chapter of Part Two! I apologize for its length, but I really had no other ideas on how to open Part Two, which is going to be the most interesting for Seddie shippers. Regardless of the length, I hope you like it anyway, and my only request is to R&R!**


	10. Chapter Nine: Groovy Smoothie

Chapter Nine: Groovy Smoothie

"T-Bo said the smoothies should be up in a minute," Carly said, smiling as she sat down at the table with Sam and Freddie on either side of her.

"Awesome!" Sam said.

"Magnifico!" Freddie said; his new shtick was speaking in Spanish at random times. Sam rolled her eyes.

She'd put the thought of Freddie's obvious lies earlier out of her mind. She didn't know what was going on with the dork, and she was trying her absolute hardest not to care. But she had a gut feeling that Freddie had played a huge part in getting Carly to take she and Freddie back, and somehow, this affected their relationship. As if they had any.

"Smoothies up!" T-Bo, the cashier at the Groovy Smoothie who donned dreadlocks (which Sam and Freddie had argued about before) yelled from the counter. Carly jumped up and went to the counter, carefully picking up all three smoothies in her hand.

"A Strawberry Splat for Freddie," she said, setting it down in front of him. "A Blueberry Banana Blitz for Sam, and a Raspberry Riot for me." After distributing smoothies, Carly sat down in the bright orange chair, sipping her Riot gratefully. After a moment, Sam and Freddie, who had both been staring into space, each picked up their smoothies and sipped as Carly was. But they were both still out of it.

Freddie was lost in his thoughts of what he'd done this afternoon. He had embarrassed himself, addressed the awkwardness that he was feeling between Carly and himself, and what had he gained? Oh, right: comfort in the fact that he'd helped Sam.

Freddie was still wondering why he'd done it. Why he'd swallowed his pride, faced embarrassment, and faced Carly, all for Sam. She'd always treated him terribly, insulting him, causing him physical harm, publicly humiliating him. But Freddie couldn't bear to see her as brokenhearted, as vulnerable, as she had been during the time that Carly wouldn't be her friend. As much as he hated to admit it, he had felt a strong pang of sadness every time he saw Sam in that state.

Meanwhile, Sam was back to pondering Freddie's involvement in Carly's taking them back. Something definitely was not right with him, and she knew that Carly had not believed their little sham. It was just too out of character for Sam and Freddie; even if they _didn't _fight all the time, it was highly unlikely that they'd speak to each other as they had while pretending to get along. Sam had a strong feeling that Carly knew that.

Both people-the blond-headed demon and brunette tech geek-sat there, lost in thought, for a few moments before Carly addressed their lack of conversation and liveliness.

"Guys?" Carly said, looking confusedly at both of them. Neither heard or acknowledged her. "Guys?"

Both teens stayed in their own little worlds.

"Guys!" Carly screamed. Sam and Freddie were jerked from their thoughts, Freddie losing his grip on his smoothie, resulting in it tumbling to the floor, and Sam choking on the icy blue slush that was going down her throat. It was a minute or so before Freddie had retrieved his smoothie, which had rolled several yards away, and Sam, with difficulty, swallowed the cold liquid which had been blocking her airway. Carly sat, sighing and rolling her eyes, as the two regained themselves.

"Is everything under control now?" Carly asked calmly, as Freddie set his smoothie down on the table, triumphant, and Sam took deep breaths, fanning her pink face. They both nodded.

"Good," said Carly primly. "Now-what's up with you two?"

"What do you mean?" Sam said hoarsely, fingering her throat.

"I mean," said Carly, looking at the two of them, "that you guys have been totally out of it for the past, like, ten minutes!"

"Oh, _that's _an exaggeration," said Freddie, rolling his eyes.

Carly held out her fingers as if she was going to flick Freddie, and he flinched, saying over and over again, "Okay, okay, okay, okay!"

"Good boy," said Carly, resuming her natural position. "Okay. Now, what's going on with you guys? Is something wrong?"

"No," said Sam, who had turned back to her natural color.

"Not at all," said Freddie, taking a sip of his smoothie. He was very wary of Carly.

"Well, obviously something is wrong, because if there wasn't, you guys wouldn't each be lost in your little…Sam and Freddie lands!" Carly finished hysterically. Sam cocked an eyebrow at her while Freddie furrowed his.

Carly looked at both of them for a minute, her head turning back and forth frantically before she shrieked, "Well?"

"Carly," said Freddie, holding his hands up in a 'calm down' gesture, "it's fine. We're fine. Just a little…tired."

Nice save, Freddie, he thought, rolling his eyes at himself internally.

"Yeah, seriously, Carls," said Sam, smiling at her best friend. "We're fine. Just clocked out for a sec. And Fred-nub's just tired. Chillax, Carly."

Carly nodded hesitantly and accepted Sam and Freddie's answers, but there was a small part of her that didn't believe them, not at all, that wondered what was really wrong.

Meanwhile, as Carly wondered about this, Sam and Freddie fell back into their thoughts. And as they each analyzed the thoughts weighing on their minds, they were each surprised to feel something when thinking of the other. It was a changing, a longing, a new feeling…

A heartache. Just a small one, the beginning of one, but a heartache just the same, as both Sam and Freddie were just starting to realize that they were feeling something for someone who they thought could never feel the same way.

**And finally, an update! I had absolutely no inspiration or motivation, though, because I wasn't getting any reviews for any of my other work or this story, which is what really drives me to keep writing. But I was thinking about a song today and I suddenly realized how the story was going to end and how to get there, so updates should be much more frequent.**

**So, if you like this story and want me to update ASAP, just slide your pointer down to the little review button and click it! One little click can help give you another chapter of this story. So click away, readers!**


	11. Chapter Ten: Tell Me the Truth

Chapter Ten: Tell Me The Truth

Sam walked through the doors of Ridgeway, backpack slung lazily over her shoulder, deep in thought. She had been battling with herself all night, and as a result, heavy, dark circles colored the skin under her eyes, and her eyelids drooped halfway over her clear blue irises. But Sam didn't feel tired; she was thinking too hard to be tired.

No, she kept thinking. No…you _cannot _be falling for that nub.

But she knew, deep down, that she was. She knew that, deep in the recesses of her heart, affection was forming for Freddie, and she could already feel the beginnings of a crush, the beginnings of a heartache. Because she knew that Freddie didn't like her back.

But all thoughts flew out of her head when she saw him, standing by his locker, shoving books in, aside, and pulling them out. He was grunting in frustration, trying to figure out how to fit more books that the locker could hold inside it. Sam knew that he'd probably done calculations beforehand.

He is such a nub, she thought. Such a nub.

"Hey, Fred-weird," she said, walking up to him, trying to keep her expression under control.

"Maldito," he was saying when she got there, expressing his frustration in Spanish. When he heard her, he looked up at her and said, "Oh. Hey." He didn't sound happy to see her.

Sam noticed this. She sucked in a deep, angry breath, and let it out, saying, "As if seeing you is high on my list of fun things to do!"

Freddie cocked an eyebrow at her. He hadn't sounded mean, had he? If so, he hadn't tried to. "Sam, I didn't-"

"Oh, yeah, right, you had your little nerdy mad tone going, don't think that I can't tell when-"

"Sam," Freddie said, standing up, trying to look sincere, which he was, "I really didn't mean to sound like-"

"Uh huh, sure-"

"Sam, I-"

Just then, Sam saw a flash of dark brown hair, and for a fleeting second, she thought it was Carly. Then she realized: she and Freddie were fighting.

"Shut up!" she hissed, punching Freddie in the arm. He immediately stopped, saying 'ouch', and looked in the direction that Sam was. He didn't see anything.

"What?' he said, rubbing his arm.

"I thought I saw…" Sam started, realizing that the brown-haired girl wasn't Carly.

"You thought you saw who?" Freddie asked.

"Carly," Sam muttered. "I thought I saw Carly, and we were fighting, so-" Sam stopped.

Carly.

The two of them fighting.

Carly dumping them, then taking them back…

Sam suddenly remembered yesterday in Carly's apartment, the day that Carly had text messaged her and asked her to come over. When she'd gotten there, Carly had said that she forgave them…Sam remembered Freddie acting nervous, like he'd lied, when she asked him what he'd done to get Carly to take them back…

"Never mind," Sam said, taking her eyes off of the brown-haired girl and turning to Freddie, her eyebrows furrowed. "I have a better question."

Freddie looked very wary. "Um…okay?"

Sam then shot at him, "What did you really do to get Carly to take us back?"

It took Freddie a minute to register what she'd just asked. And when he did finally realize what she'd asked, it hit him hard. He had been trying so hard to forget that day, what he'd said to Carly…

"_I've always cared about Sam…"_

Freddie shuddered, trying to shake the thought from his mind. He did not want to think about it…he still felt like he'd betrayed some promise somehow, by admitting that he cared about Sam…

Carly dumping he and Sam had changed a lot of things for him, had added a lot of stress. He'd been trying, over the past twenty-four hours, to not think about Sam, or his admitting that he cared about her, or his possible feelings for her, which he had realized he might have at the Groovy Smoothie yesterday, and this question…it just brought all of that back. He didn't know how to respond.

"Well?" Sam said impatiently, after watching Freddie stand there staring into space for a minute or so. "What did you do?"

Freddie sighed. "I told you Sam, Carly just believed that we were getting along-"

"Look, Benson!" Sam said, grabbing Freddie's arm and twisting it around. "I'm sick of this lying chiz! Tell me the truth!"

"Okay, okay!" Freddie said. Sam still twisting his arm, Freddie said, "I went to Carly's apartment yesterday and told her to tell me the truth about why she dumped us. She told me it was because of our fighting, but I didn't believe her, I thought she had dumped us because of our fighting as an excuse to just get rid of me because she felt awkward around me because we just broke up. I wouldn't have gone, but you were really upset and…" Freddie trailed off. He went on, "Anyway, I went there and told her what I thought, and told her to take you back, and she smiled and hugged me and told me that she had been sick of the fighting but she had also really been afraid that we didn't really care about each other and I'd just proved that I cared about you, and I told her I'd always cared about you but that didn't mean we weren't going to argue…and…"

Freddie couldn't keep going. He'd talked so fast, and so much, and he was just…out of things to say. He couldn't believe that he'd just told Sam that he cared about her. He was in shock.

Sam was, too. She was staring straight ahead, mouth slightly agape. She slowly loosened her grip on Freddie's arm and dropped it, not sure what to say. What he'd said had just confirmed a lot of things for her, had changed a lot of things for her, and she was just at a loss for words. There was nothing to say.

They stood there, both stuck in their anxious, shocked thoughts, until the bell rang. When it did, they both slowly were brought back into the real world where the first thing that they saw was each other. However, they still couldn't speak.

Sam, the ever-strong one, was the one who finally broke the silence and said, "Uh…see you later."

"Yeah," Freddie muttered, nodding.

They both went in separate directions, both having fallen back into their own thoughts, both absorbed in them, and both of them completely unsure as to what would happen next.

**Woo-hoo, an update! This story's gonna come to a close pretty quickly, guys...I'm thinking that two more chapters will tie everything up. I worked super hard on this chapter (I sure hope you can tell!). I really hope you enjoy the Seddie-ness, because there's a lot more to come...what do you guys think will happen? What do you hope to see? Tell me in your reviews!**

**I'm already making plans for a sequel. I've got a plotline and a title...now I just need to write the story. I'll tell you the title in my A/N in the final chapter.**

**In the meantime...read and review!**


	12. Chapter Eleven: It's a Heartache

Chapter Eleven: It's a Heartache...

"No, Mom, I am not waxing your upper lip!" Sam screamed as she got into her bedroom, throwing her backpack down by the door. She slammed the door shut before her mom could retort, hoping, _praying_, that her mother wouldn't follow her in here with the hot wax and the cotton strips.

Sam stopped, exhaling, and looked around her room. Last night's pajamas were still on the floor, just where she'd left them this morning, and there was a pizza box splattered with grease lying on her pillow. Sam immediately ran over to it, throwing open the lid to see if there was any pizza left in there. There was half a slice in one corner of the box, but Sam decided that it was too green to be edible. She threw the box on the floor and jumped onto her bed, pushing some clothes and dirty sneakers off of it. She laid back, stretching, and just relaxed…just relaxed…just let her thoughts run free…

Freddie.

Sam sat up, trying desperately to force the thought of him out of her head. She had tried all day to just forget him, to forget what he'd said, to forget what she felt…

"Ugh!" Sam growled. She got up, running over to her dresser, and plugged in the radio that her senile grandfather, Grandpa Puckett, had sent to her on her fifteenth birthday, not knowing that no one listened to the radio anymore, that all kids her age had PearPods. Still, she'd kept it, just in case one day she got angry and needed something to smash.

Once the radio was plugged in, Sam turned it on, making sure to turn the knob so that the volume was all the way up. She turned another knob for a minute and finally found a station that was playing a loud hard rock song. Sam danced for a minute, moving as she would if the Random Dancing music was playing, and once she got tired, flopped down on her bed, all thoughts of Freddie now blasted from her mind.

But, to Sam's dismay, the song was soon over, and the next song that came on was not exactly helpful in keeping Freddie off her mind. A woman with a very gravelly voice was singing:

_It's a heartache…_

_Nothing but a heartache…_

_Hits you when it's too late…_

_Hits you when you're down…_

"Seriously?" Sam yelled, pushing herself up and off of her bed. She stalked over to the radio and grabbed the knob in her fingers, squeezing it. She turned forcefully, but instead of the station changing, the knob came off in her hand, and the song kept playing.

Sam stared at the knob in disbelief, then stared in shock at the radio, which was still blasting the song. Sam thought of turning it to AM, but couldn't find the button to do that. She kicked her dresser in frustration.

"Thanks, Gramps!" Sam yelled, still searching the radio over for some way to change stations. She thought briefly of just yanking the plug out of the wall, but there was no point: she'd be thinking of Freddie with or without the radio on now, and at least this way she had something to listen to. Defeated, Sam went back to her bed and sat down on it, feeling angry and confused and just downright bad.

Sam had tried her very best not to think about Freddie after he told her what he'd done to get Carly to take them back; or, as she now knew, what he'd done to get Carly to take _her _back…Freddie had not been trying to get Carly to take him back also.

Sam was still wondering why he'd done it. Freddie had embarrassed himself for her, something that he'd never done before. He had really shown that he cared for her.

Sam swallowed, hard. She was now remembering her battle with herself last night, what had been confirmed for her after Freddie's admitting that he cared for her.

She had fallen for him.

She had known that it was a possibility: she'd figured that out last night. But the second that Freddie said the words '_I'd always cared about you_' was the second that she knew, that she had, one hundred percent, fallen for him.

And it was killing her.

...

Freddie walked up to the door of his apartment, digging in his pocket for his key. When he finally found it, he stuck it in the lock and tried to turn it. It wouldn't turn. Freddie removed the key and stuck it in again, turning the key to the left with great force. He even pushed on it a little. Nothing.

"Ugh," he said. He ripped the key out a second time, then shoved it back in, trying so hard to turn it that his hand was shaking. He pushed hard on it, turning at the same time, and fell forward a little when the key suddenly went further into the lock with a _click._

"Oh no."

Now Freddie was trying to pull the key out of the lock, using all of his strength. He tugged on it, first with one hand, then with both, and growled to himself when absolutely nothing happened. Defeated, he kicked the door and turned around, his back to it, and slid to the floor, eyes closed. He was suddenly exhausted.

Freddie sat there for a minute, resting. I'll just stay here until my mom gets home, he thought. She'll be back soon.

Freddie decided to pop in his ear buds and listen to some tunes on his PearPod. He stuck the white speakers in his ears and click the shuffle button, hoping for something good.

Then, slowly and quietly, piano music began playing in his ears. Freddie recognized it, but couldn't put his finger on it.

The instant he heard her voice, he knew.

_Turn around, every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never comin' 'round…_

"Aw, jeez." Of course a sappy love song would be the first music he would hear on a day like this.

Freddie leaned his head back against the door. He couldn't believe what he was feeling…he didn't know _why _he was feeling it. He'd always cared about Sam! Why did it seem like a big deal now? Because he'd said it? Finally admitted it without being forced to? And why, _why, _did it have to be this confusing?

_And I need you now tonight, and I need you more than ever…_

**Ahh, finally! Chapter Eleven! I hope you guys like this. Hope it isn't too sappy. One more chapter and it is a wrap! Whooo! But then I'm gonna start the sequel, the name of which I will put in my A/N next chapter, the last chapter. It's been fun...read on for the conclusion. And, as always, R&R!**


	13. Chapter Twelve: Terrified

Chapter Twelve: Terrified

The wind felt good blowing through Freddie's short, but thick, dark hair as he sat on the fire escape of Bushwell Plaza. He had been here for a few hours, just sitting on the stairs, looking at the bright lights of Seattle, listening to whatever song came from the speakers of his iPod dock. His mom had come home from work and let him in the house, but he'd felt like he needed to be alone. And not just in his room, either. Completely, utterly alone, the closest people being in apartments in the hall behind him or hundreds of feet down in, in cars and trucks.

Meanwhile, while Freddie sat on the balcony, Sam was stepping out of a cab in front of Bushwell. She thrust a few dollars through the window at the driver, gypping him on the tip, and headed into the lobby. She walked past Lewbert to the elevator, impatiently pressing the button for the eighth floor, and tried to stand still as she went up. She was so scared: she had come her to talk to Freddie, maybe try to express her feelings, even though she wasn't completely sure of what they were herself. Still, she knew that she wasn't going to get any rest until she talked to Freddie.

Before she knew it, the elevator doors were opening onto the eighth floor. Sam stared at the hall for a minute, trying to prepare herself for whatever was going to happen, and stepped out of the elevator. She walked briskly down the short hall, turning left at the end, and found herself standing between the doors to both Carly's and Freddie's apartments. She stared at Carly's door for a minute, wanting to go in, to talk to her about everything, but she couldn't. Carly had just broken up with Freddie, she might still have feelings for him…and even if she didn't, what would she think if she knew that Sam, the girl who loved to torture Freddie, had feelings for him? Sam glanced away from Carly's door, walked up to Freddie's door, and knocked.

Seconds after Sam's fist had left the wood of the door, Mrs. Benson threw it open and stuck her head out.

"Oh," she said, less than pleased to see Sam standing there. She frowned. "Hello, Sam."

"Is Freddie here?" Sam decided just to cut to the chase. She knew that if she talked to Mrs. Benson any more than she had to, she'd get irritated at her and say something insulting, and then Mrs. Benson wouldn't let her see Freddie.

"No, he's not," said Mrs. Benson a bit harshly. She seemed a bit stressed about this. "He was sitting here out in the hall when I got home, he'd locked himself out, and as soon as I let him in, he dumped his backpack and said he was going to Carly and Spencer's. He seemed upset."

"Oh," said Sam. "I'll go to Carly's then." Even as she said this, Sam knew that Freddie wasn't at Carly's. She knew why he was upset, and she knew exactly where he was.

"Do you know why he's upset?" Mrs. Benson asked.

Sam thought for a second. "He got a B on his English paper."

"Oh my goodness!" said Mrs. Benson. "He's spending way too much time around you and that other little son-stealer and his grades are slipping! When he gets home, he and I are going to have a little-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, lady," said Sam, waving her off. Mrs. Benson sighed indignantly, then shut the door. As soon as Sam heard the click, she dashed off toward the elevator. He had to be there…he wouldn't be anywhere else….not after all this….

"C'mon, c'mon!" Sam growled, jumping up and down impatiently. Finally, the elevator doors opened, and Sam ran in, hastily pressing the button for the floor she was going to. The floor where Freddie was.

The doors opened, and Sam ran down the hall to where the fire escape window was. She skidded to a stop, using the side of the window to help her. And sure enough, sitting on the ledge where she'd sat just a year or so before, was Freddie, staring out into the Seattle sky.

Sam looked at him for a minute. Loose pieces of hair blew slightly in the wind. His soft hands gripped the ledge, not hard, but gripped it just the same. He looked so grown up compared to the short, squeaky-voiced boy she'd acquainted years ago.

Just like the last time, Sam knocked quietly on the window.

Freddie turned around, a little startled. His eyes widened, then went back to normal when he realized who it was. He smiled a little, then faced the sky again.

Sam hesitated for a second, and Freddie said, without turning around, "Are you coming?"

She took a deep breath. Heart pounding hard in her chest, Sam put her legs over the ledge, one after the other, and sat down next to Freddie, her hand inches from his. For a minute or two, they both just watched the sky, the stars, the occasional airplane. Then, when the music from Freddie's iPod speakers no longer eased the awkward tension, Freddie scooted to the side a little and turned toward Sam.

"Look, Sam," he said, as a woman began to softly sing.

_You by the light is the greatest find…In a world full of wrong, you're the thing that's right…_

Freddie swallowed. "I'm sorry about…everything that's happened over the past week. Things are just…weird right now, and I-"

Freddie was cut off by Sam leaning in and pressing her lips firmly against his.

In a teen movie, this would've been a perfect first kiss for the heroine. Two friends slowly finding their feelings for each other, struggling with them, finally facing them, and kissing, in the end. But for Sam, her first kiss had been fine just the way it was. At the time that it happened, Sam was so confused about everything that she hadn't really been able to appreciate it, or who it was with. But now, as she sat on the fire escape with her lips against Freddie's, she realized that it was a pretty darn good first kiss.

_And I-ee-I-ee-I'm in love, and I-ee-I-ee-I am terrified…_

Sam felt Freddie's fingers briefly touch hers.

_For the first time, and the last time, in my only life._

Sam and Freddie finally broke apart at the end of the first chorus of the song. When they pulled from each other, each of them was feeling a special brand of fear. They were both afraid what would happen if Carly found out, of what would happen to their friendship now, of what would happen if they couldn't be together. And as Sam stood up and prepared to leave, Freddie looked at her in a way that told her he was thinking about all of these things. However, his eyes summed up his feelings in two words.

_I'm scared. _

Sam looked at him for a minute, then smiled a little and stepped over the ledge. She began walking down the hallway without another look at Freddie, but was still thinking of him.

_I'm scared, too._

Sam half-smiled again as she felt a hot tear slide down her cheek.

_I'm terrified. _

**It's over, guys! I have finally completed my first-ever longfic! I really hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I am already planning a sequel, which, if you're interested (:D) is called...iDream of Dating You! Interpret that however you want. Well, I really have nothing else to say except that I hope you liked it, I hope you'll check out the sequel, and of course...Read and Review! C'mon, lots of reviews! Thank you!**

**Your author,**

**Rebecca**


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